HALLOWEEN 4:

Vegeta was tired. Tired of feeling this dull emptiness in him. For one brief, shining moment, he had been one with the warmth that was Kakkarrot and then…the pain. ~ Kami, how could he? ~ One part of his mind tried to deny the fact that Kakkarot had actually raped him, another part screamed in anguish and dull anger at the betrayal. Squeezing his eyes shut, he remembered the softly spoken words of the other man. Kakkarot had said that he loved him. And oh, he so wanted to believe that, but how could he? He had just been mistreated in the worst way possible and yet he couldn’t hate the man. Turning onto his side, he looked at the dozing Saiyan at the foot of the bed. His face was back to the peaceful, lovable face of the Kakkarot he had gotten used to on earth. Leaning forward, he reached for the sleeping face, when the door was suddenly thrust open.

“Ah…Ouji-sama! It is good to see you awake.”

Vegeta stared at Sevan in part surprise and in part anger. How dare he walk into his quarters without permission? Speaking in cold tones, Vegeta spat out,

“What do you think you are doing in my quarters without my permission, Sevan? I could have you killed for that!”

“Forgive me, my lord, but it seems like we got a message stating that there was an intruder in your midst.” He gasped in shock, as he saw the blood stains on the satin sheets. “Kami! Ouji-sama, did that imbecile hurt you?! Let me take care of him, my lord! I promise to dole out the punishment he so richly deserves!”

Vegeta watched in shock as the angry-looking Sevan suddenly yanked Kakkarrot awake.

“Chikuso!!” Goku yelled in pain as his hair was pulled out by its roots. He turned around to stare at the cold, blue eyes of a strange-looking man, dressed in another fancy get-up. ~ Where the hell is this place? ~ His mind thought frantically. “Let go of my hair!! Vegeta!! Make him stop!!” Goku pleaded, looking into the now blank eyes of his prince.

“Shut up! You fool!! How dare you speak to your prince in that manner!!” Sevan snapped in anger, striking Goku with a harsh blow to the back of his head. Howling out in pain, Goku glared at Vegeta’s noncommittal face and then feeling his anger rising, he transformed into his Super Saiyan state and charged after the astonished Sevan. Goku yelled out in rage and began pummeling the now-cringing man. His only intent was to get himself and Vegeta out of there, when he suddenly felt a strong grip around his neck. Feeling his air circulation being cut off drastically, he released his hold on Sevan and tried to pry the strong hands off his neck. Turning around slowly, he was more than shocked at Vegeta, now in his golden form as well, choking him with that strange blank look still on his face.

“You are in contempt, Kakkarrot.” Vegeta said dully, as if reciting some memorized verse. “You are to be punished according to the Saiyan custom.”

“What are you talking about, Vegeta?! It’s me, Goku!!”

“Take him to the courtyards, Sevan, and make sure that he is punished. Once he is finished, he is to be returned to my quarters.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Goku watched in dismay and mounting horror as his wrists and ankles were suddenly bound with ki-restraining chains. Turning pleading eyes to Vegeta, he tried to make the dazed man see reason again. ~ Please, Vegeta. Don’t let them turn you into your former self. ~ For a moment, Vegeta’s eyes shimmered with awareness before being replaced with the empty, dead ones again. Sighing in defeat, Goku turned around and walked solemnly in front of the smirking Sevan and towards his awaiting pain.

~*~*~*~*~

Gohan was beginning to feel a bit too stuffy in his spacesuit costume and there was no doubt that he was going to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the others. He needed an immediate change. Sharp eyes noticed a guard standing against a wall and moving faster than the eye could see, Gohan struck a clean blow behind his head, blinking as he noticed that the man was wearing the same uniform that Radditz and Nappa and even Vegeta had been wearing the first time they had met, long ago. But then again, this place was Vegeta’s fantasy, so this wasn’t a surprise. Changing quickly, Gohan tucked his ‘compass’ into the side pocket of his uniform and began to walk towards the noise and chaos.

~ What in Kami’s name was going on? ~

“A prisoner! We are about to execute a prisoner for the prince!” Came a bellow from an excited soldier or guard, Gohan couldn’t really tell.

“Whoa…hold on a sec. What prisoner?” He asked as he stopped the running man with a strong hand on his shoulder.

The Saiyan stared at Gohan as if he had gone mad. “Tonight is the prince’s celebration and honorable Yazuha has gotten the perfect sacrifice to end the festivities. We are going to kill the traitor that dared to violate our prince!!”

Gohan’s eyes widened in shock. ~ No way…could it be… ~ “Hey, wait up for me!!”

And dashing after the other man, Gohan was led into the inner bowels of the castle.

~*~*~*~

Piccolo and Popo stared at the glass, intently.

“Do you think he can make it on time?” Popo asked, biting his nails in agitation.

His only reply was a rough growl that sounded eerily like ‘He had better’.

~*~*~*~*~

“Do you think our dads are going to be alright?” Goten asked softly as he stared at the ceiling above him. When he got no answer, he turned to face the other boy on the bed, even though he was faced with the lavender locks. “Trunks? Are you asleep?”

When no answer was forthcoming, Goten sighed and turned to his own side. “They will be fine. I just know they will. It’s Halloween and they can beat any monster, right? Our dads can take care of themselves. I just know they are…”

Trunks remained silent, never uttering a word even as the tears of worry continued to cascade down his cheeks.

~ Daddy… ~

~*~*~*~*~

~ I am going to die. I am going to die in Vegeta’s world and I probably deserve it. ~

Goku struggled with the ki restraints for a moment, knowing how fruitless his efforts were.

~ At least…I got to kiss him, if nothing else… ~

“Dad?!”

The earth-raised saiyan’s head jerked up as a familiar voice sliced through his thoughts. “Go…Gohan?! Is that you?!” He peered at the smiling face through the bars of his prison and grinned back happily.

Gohan was unable to stop the tears that fell from his eyes as he noticed the state that his father was in or the fact that he was still alive. “Don’t worry, dad. I am here to get you out.” He held up a bunch of keys and grumbled as he tried to make out which one opened up the cell.

“How did you…”

“Not now, dad. We don’t have too much time. I could barely make my way through the guards out there and if they know that I am here…you can kiss me goodbye, as well. Yatta!!”

He opened up the doors and flew into the room, hands already reaching to pull the constraints off.

“No use, son…ki restraints. You are gonna have to blast them off my hands…unless you have a key there that can do the trick.”

Grumbling at how much time was being wasted, Gohan began the taxing chore of finding the exact one that would open up the chains. Both Saiyans froze as the sound of footsteps approached them.

“Where is the prisoner?!” A burly-looking Saiyan asked as he stepped into the dungeon. “Is he ready to meet the prince?”

Gohan nodded and shoved Goku roughly. “Yes, he is my lord. Go ahead, you traitor!!” He pushed Goku again, wincing inwardly as he watched his father fall to the ground.

~ Don’t push it, son. ~

~ Sorry, dad…just got into the spirit of things. ~

“Hurry up! The prince awaits!” The guard barked in irritation. Gohan snapped to attention and nodded quickly, before pulling his father by the scruff of his neck and out into the boisterous, waiting crowd.

~*~*~*~*~

Sevan and Yazuha flanked both sides of the prince’s throne as they watched Goku being brought out. The sorcerer grinned and bowed to Vegeta, whose expression gave nothing away. If anything, the prince looked…blank.

“Call out the royal executioner!!!” Sevan bellowed, causing the crowd to scream out in even more joy. A royal head chop, how fitting.

Gohan swallowed tightly and pressed his body against the wall, hoping and praying that nothing would go wrong with their plan. At the moment, Goku was being placed on a stand and another Saiyan with a wicked-looking machete strolled out to loud cheers.

~ Come on, dad…now… ~

“Face the prince and denounce your wicked ways, Kakkarrot!!”

~ With all my pleasure. ~ Goku thought inwardly. He spun around as ordered and faced the impassive visage of the saiyan he had come to love and admire. ~ I only do this for you, Vegeta. Don’t hate me… ~

Quicker than the eye could see, Goku held out the ‘compass’ and pointed it squarely on the grizzly old man.

“No!!! Noooooooooooo!!! I can’t go back!! You can’t make me go back to that dark world!!”

“Sure I can!!” Goku bellowed in triumph as a flash of blue energy was emitted from the object. It encompassed Yazuha and Sevan completely, seeming to suck them into the now thrumming object in his hands.

Gohan could barely contain his excitement as he watched the people and surroundings vanish into nothing. Gone were the loud crowds, the castle, the food…all that was left was just the three of them in an empty parking lot.

“Vegeta!”

Goku’s cry roused him out of his reverie as he watched his father run over to cradle the now limp ouji within his arms. Gohan walked up to the couple and had to turn his face away, allowing his silently sobbing father a moment to compose himself. He bent down to pick up the now-quiet ‘compass’ and fiddled with it for a moment, before it was rudely snatched from his hands by a familiar green hand.

“Piccolo!!”

“Hai and you shouldn’t be playing with things that do not belong to you, Gohan. Here you go, Mr. Popo. You know what to do with it.”

The genie nodded and accepted it gingerly, before making his way back to the Lookout.

Piccolo glanced at the two saiyans and raised an eyebrow. Gohan shrugged and muttered out softly. “Something must have happened in there between them both. I don’t know what it is, but it must have been bad to make my dad cry over…Vegeta…”

The Namekian snorted and began to walk away. “Let’s leave them alone. You have to show me something, remember?”

Gohan’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Really?! You still want to go with me to the Halloween part…”

“I didn’t say I was going to go into that woman’s house!” Piccolo reiterated as he stalked away, followed closely by the beaming young saiyan. “I just said…”

“Yeah, yeah, you will watch from the outside. Geez, Piccolo, you could try to have some fun every now and then, you know…”

“What are you trying to say, Gohan?”

“Nothing.” Came the happy reply, as he slipped his arm around the scowling green-skinned being’s own. “Nothing at all.”

~*~*~*~*~

Vegeta groaned and opened up his eyes, weakly. His head was pounding and he felt like a familiar rival and foe had pummeled him with a thousand blows.

~ Kakkarrot… ~

“Hai, Vegeta. I am here…”

His eyes widened at the voice and the prince sat up quickly, cursing loudly at the pain that seared through him. The last thing he remembered was walking down the hallway of his castle and then inviting Kakkarrot into his room and then…

His face reddened at the memory, and he averted his gaze, trying to stare at anything but the saiyan he had allowed access to his body. He blinked at the sight of silent cars and street lamps that glowed softly. Aside from an occasional sound of a police siren, or the gust of the wind, the silence was quite oppressive.

Where was his castle? Where were his people? What had happened to everyone?!

“Kakkarrot…what…”

“I am so sorry, Vegeta. I didn’t mean to do anything to you like that, honest! You know that I would never hurt you in such a way. I don’t even know what came over me. It was like I was controlled by…mmpff!”

Dark eyes widened as cool, but firm lips pressed themselves against his in a kiss that was as rough as it was gentle. They closed again as his lips parted to release a tiny sound of delight, gasping in pleasure and shock as he felt Vegeta’s tongue slip into his mouth to capture his own naïve one. Arousals sprang to attention, bodies beginning to tremble as a fiery lust consumed them both, sweeping them both in an emotion so strong that…

“TRICK-OR-TREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAATT!!!

Vegeta tore his lips away from Goku’s and rose to his feet in fury at the interruption. He was just about to yell at the now, quite frankly, petrified kids, when a warm hand was placed on his shoulder.

“Kakkarrot…grrr…” Why did he have to look at him in that way? “Fine!” He turned back to face the children. “Sorry, kiddies, but we have no candies with us. Now, if you will go to a little house in the city called Capsule Corporation, you will find a blue-haired mons…I mean, fairy. You can be sure that you will get lots and lots of candy, okay? Now, beat it!”

The children were more than happy to oblige as the two saiyans watched them run off into the night.

“That was really nice, Vegeta…well besides the last line…”

“I am sorry, Kakkarrot.”

Goku blinked and stared at the tension-filled back of the prince. “Vegeta. I should be the one apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong. I took…took you by force…” He finished weakly, staring at the ground in dismay.

“No. I should be the one to blame. My stupid fantasies came to life, not in the way I had imagined it to be. I almost got you killed, Kakkarrot and that…that…” He spun around to face the taller saiyan, onyx eyes shimmering with some hidden emotion. “That would have been the most frightening event of my life.”

“Vegeta…”

“Could you ever forgive me for such a thing, Kakkarrot? Could you ever find it in your heart to…” ~ Love me? ~

His words faltered as he felt those strong arms wrap around his waist to pull him closer to the powerful body. Vegeta closed his eyes and accepted it gladly, inhaling the unique and intoxicating scent of his rival. “I have always forgiven you for everything, Vegeta. You do not need to apologize any longer.” Goku placed a finger beneath the prince’s chin and tilted it up gently to stare into his eyes. “But, for putting me through this tonight…”

Vegeta scowled lightly as he noticed the bright glint in the other’s eyes. “What now, Kakkarrot? What evil plan have you concocted for me this time?”

Goku chuckled and pulled away, only to tug gently on Vegeta’s hands. “You owe me a Halloween trick-or-treatin’ fun time!”

“Wha…Kakkarrot!! I will not go to any such thing!! You can’t make me…” He squeezed his eyes shut at the gut-wrenching, pleading look on Goku’s face. “CHIKUSO!! Fine then!! But, we have one hour, Kakkarrot! You hear me!! One hour and then I am leaving for home without you!”

He had to yell, for the saiyan in question was already running off towards the city lights with a loud cry of, ‘Come on, Vegeta! We have to hurry before they all run out!!’.

The prince sighed in exasperation and began a quick jog after his friend. He stopped for a moment as something fluttered towards his face. Snatching it quickly, he felt his blood run cold at the words that glared back at him.

“IT’S ALL HALLOW’S EVE. COME JOIN US, WHERE YOUR EVERY FANTASY WILL COME TRUE. WE WILL BE WAITING…VEGETA…UNTIL THE END OF TIME…”

~* Happy Halloween!!! *~